


Finding Loki

by Dorktapus42



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: And gets knocked out a lot, Banner's pretty chill though, Doctor Strange is a badass, Fight Scenes, Fury is an ass-et to the team, Gen, I wrote most of this before IW so that's why Stormbreaker's not in it, Infinity War Spoilers and mentions, Loki blows stuff up, Loki isn't in any relationships, Loki's really good at throwing knives, Major character death - Freeform, Right after Avengers 4 so I took some liberties, Some blood mentions, Tony Stark loves nicknames, for good reason but he gets better, hawkeye is a jerk, well one person but still
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2019-06-13 02:38:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 14,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15354381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dorktapus42/pseuds/Dorktapus42
Summary: (Might change that title later...)- Loki POV- He's not in a relationship or anything- Deals with stages of grief, which should be fun- Things tend to blow up rather quickly(Feel free to hate me around chapter 4- I kinda deserve it.)ENJOY! I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This will be updated less often than The Crystal Timeline because this is more of a side project, but I hope you enjoy it. I don't plan for it to be all that long- less than 20 chapters. 
> 
> However....
> 
> Enjoy! Thank you for clicking!

Loki was in jail. Again. He stared at the ceiling, the bright lights making his eyes hurt.

But this time he had actually done nothing out of the ordinary to his recollection. Sure, he’d stabbed Thor, but all in a day’s work, right? They had escaped Hella and had freed the refugees by coming to Earth and setting up a base in Central America. Well, those were the plans before his memory gapped. 

Now why was he in this cell? At the avengers tower no less- the logo was plastered everywhere.

There must have been a fight or something of the sort. 

Unfortunately they also must have hit him on the head to capture him, and he still had to regain his full memories. He rubbed his temples. A concussion always gave him a screaming headache.... and mild amnesia.

He looked up at the sound of yelling, peering out of the magic wall of his cell. Nobody there, so where was that infernal racket coming from? 

He looked up to see a vent. Ah, a design flaw. If he wasn’t so curious on what was making that noise, he would be escaping in a flash. But then again, he didn’t have all of his memories yet, so he probably should wait. 

Now why had the screaming stopped?

He turned back toward the metal bed bolted to the wall. Then a voice came from behind him. 

“Brother.”

He turned around. The most irritating person ever stared right back. “Thor.” 

“We’re getting raided brother.”

“And why should I care?” The pounding in his head returned at full force. 

“Because you have good in you brother.”

He blinked at him. A moral dilemma this early in the morning? He really must have done something unusual. 

“If I had good in me then why am I stuck in here?” That was a rhetorical question, but he was still surprised when his cell door faded away with the press of a button.

“Not anymore you’re not.” Thor flashed him a grin. “Let’s go.”

—-

He really hated fighting with a headache. 

He felt like he was in the edge of a precipice, a fifty-fifty chance of things going wrong. Like all of the work he had done to hone his powers was gone, evaporated in an instant, and he was twelve years old again. Normally he would never admit that.

The blood thumped in his head as he tried to keep himself from slipping. Things always got destructive when he did, and he needed as little of that as possible right now. 

Because some monochromatic idiots had decided to raid the complex. Now he didn’t mind if the others got hurt, but he got rather grouchy with a headache and he needed to blow off some steam by punching people in the face. 

So he punched people in the face. He heard the satisfaction of a broken nose. Ah, that felt better. The others didn’t know he was released, and apparently his brother wanted to keep it that way. He just wanted to lie down until his headache went away before all of this made him get a migraine instead. Headaches he could handle, but gods help anyone who approached him when he had a migraine. Even Frigg had kept away- and there goes his control. 

He regained it quickly, but not before the men he was fighting were blasted into the walls. Well there go the informants. He ducked behind a pillar as Captain America ran into the room, looking for the source of the noise. His head continued to throb. 

Stupid concussion... and the effects from those usually had more of an affect on him because he wasn’t an actual Asgardian. He grit his teeth as Cap came closer. Don’t lash out-

-WHAM!-

The doors across the room blasted open, and he swore, summoning a throwing knife and leaving the shadow of the pillar. Raiders streamed into the room, and somehow Cap hadn’t noticed him. Well, stealth was going to go out of the window now.

“Get out of here.”

Cap looked at him in shock. “How did you-“

“I said get out!”

The pain in his head was unbearable. Thor would probably kill him if he accidentally killed one of his teammates, so Cap wisely ran out of the room. He looked towards the doors, making sure nobody was around.

Showtime. He smiled maniacally and made a flicking motion with his wrist. 

They flew up into the ceiling then fell into heaps at the floor. This is why you wear helmets when raiding. Incompetent fools. The ones that remained standing staggered to their feet, but he was upon them and the incoming second wave, letting his powers go haywire. 

It ended quickly. And he most likely hadn’t killed anyone- just knocked them out. Now Thor wouldn’t have any reason to yell at him and make the headache worse. Speaking of worse- he heard footsteps.

He had just ducked behind a pillar when the others came in. He pulled magic around him, making him invisible. 

“How the hell-“ Black Widow seemed stunned. 

“Language Nat. I’m sure we will find out shortly.” Had he gotten amnesia too? He had to remember-

Another shot rang out. Well, the hoards approached. How many were there anyway? This seemed very organized for coming out of nowhere. 

He let the magic fade away as he backed up to join them in the shadows of a column. His head pounded, but his mind whirled. What if-

He felt a familiar pair of hands grab him. Oh, no, this wasn’t a variant of-

He sailed through the air, knocking a group over like bowling pins. His vision swirled, and he almost collapsed. A little warning next time would be great. No, there wouldn’t be a next time. He’d kill him later. 

He staggered to his feet. “You know, I really hate it when you do that.”

“How did you- Thor!”

“What? You told me to get help! I got help!”

A glimpse of a forgotten memory flit through his mind. Someone screaming for help. What had happened and how long ago?

“That wasn’t the exact help we had in mind.”

“Loki, you did this?” Cap seemed surprised.

He straightened his spine, determined to show no hint of his weakness. “I don’t think I killed any of them.”

“That’s a first...” Stark muttered under his breath. He felt a flash of anger, but quickly stifled it before things blew out of proportion. Literally. “-So are we going to stand here fighting or are we gonna kick ass?” 

He realized he had missed something, but there was nothing to be done. More shots rang out behind him, and he turned around to see more Raiders. He sighed, feeling weary and in pain. He hoped he didn’t explode...

“Kick ass of course.” His brother smiled at Stark. “Isn’t that what we do?”

Loki rolled his eyes, conjuring his helmet as a close-range weapon. “You should probably get a day job.” He muttered. 

“I heard that!”

He smirked, feeling a flash of amusement. “I know.”

Then they were upon them. He managed to knock quite a few out, but soon realized he was going to have to be destructive so they wouldn’t get overwhelmed. 

“Everyone stand back!” He shouted, wincing at the pressure in his head.

They looked confused, but Thor immediately realized what was going on and grabbed those closest to him. So did Cap. The rest followed. Thor whispered to Stark.

“Man of Iron, say something stupid.”

Good idea. Stark fumbled for a minute. 

“You know who’s weirder looking than those antlers? Your mom!”

He noticed Thor puff up slightly. A few of the others looked confused, but all he saw was red. He dared-! His hands formed into fists.

Then he was blasted against the wall and darkness overcame him once more.


	2. Chapter 2

He woke up on an unfamiliar couch. He raised a hand to his head, feeling the prickle of stitches and the bulk of a bandage. Yep, that was what pain felt like. How could he forget?

He managed to get up off of the couch and limp to the nearby kitchen. He looked for tea, but all they had was coffee. That filth. Why on Earth did humans drink that-

He staggered as his memories caught up to him. Well, most of them. He still didn’t know why he had gotten captured. 

What about his brother? And his teammates? He knew Thor would be devastated if any of them died. Even if their beverage tastes begged to differ, the world would have been enslaved five times over if they-

“You’re awake.”

He looked over to see Black Widow. Her arms were crossed, and she had a bandage on one cheek.

“Evidently. How-“

“Your brother is fine. The ceiling collapsed after the explosion, but nobody was too badly injured. Stark has to make a new suit though, and that pissed him off quite a bit. However, I’m sure it could have been worse had you not been there. Thanks.”

He was stunned. Was he hallucinating? Thanks given from an Avenger? That was absurd. 

“Did Thor tear Stark limb from limb about the comment on our mother?”

Widow chuckled. “No, but that was the maddest I’ve seen him in a long time. What happened anyway? All I remember is Thor telling Stark to say something stupid then the ceiling falling in. Did you-?”

He looked down at the counter, hands behind his back. That was all the answer she needed. 

“Huh. Remind me not to get on your bad side any more than I already have then.” She walked out of the kitchen. He grabbed some water and followed, but she was gone by the time he arrived in the room. However, Cap was sitting in the armchair knitting.

He cocked an eyebrow, putting aside his knitting needles. “Ah, you’re awake. How are you recovering?” The fact that Cap knit shouldn’t have surprised him.

He stood there for a second, halfway through a sip of water, then hurriedly swallowed. He nodded faster than was necessary. His head spun, and he resisted the urge to grab his head in pain. 

“I’m fine. Never better.”

Cap raised his brow again, then went back to his knitting. “If you’re sure. Just don’t overdo it. Thor would probably strike me with lightning or something.” That was indeed something he could picture his Brother doing. 

He say down on the couch heavily. “No, I’m perfect. Sharp as a stab as they say.”

“I’m not sure anyone here says that, but if you’re sure.”

There was a heavy silence. Just the sound of breathing and the clicking of needles against themselves as they intermingled with string. 

Neither of them noticed Stark come into the kitchen to grab a slice of cold pizza. Cap was too busy knitting, and Loki was trying not to faint or blow anything up. He grit his teeth.

“Do you by any chance have anything for a headache?”

Cap looked up. “Yeah, sure, let me get it.” He left the room. Stark took the abandoned seat. Loki groaned and laid his head on the back of the couch.

“That excited to see me huh?”

He kept his eyes closed, humming noncommittally. 

“Nice explosion. Great job, bringing the ceiling down on our heads.”

Silence, and a faint flash of anger deep down, buried underneath pain and guilt.

“Nothing? I thought someone like you would be happy to cause pain.”

“I am not a masochist Stark.”

“You took out someone’s eye!”

“That was for a job and nothing more. I enjoyed the power, not the pain. Pain is meaningless and eternal. To find enjoyment in another’s pain is finding enjoyment in how long it takes paint to dry.”

“Spare me the metaphors Rudolph. How’d it happen?”

Darkness was a lovely thing. “Pardon?”

“The ceiling. How’d it happen?”

He smiled ruefully at the ceiling. “I have been told I have quite a temper.”

“You’ve been mad before. Not... explosive.”

“No. I was slipping off the edge of control into the realm of emotion. Now if you will excuse me, I need a nap.”

He conjured an eye mask. Stark sighed. 

“Loki.”

No answer. Just the content of a man whose pain was ebbing slightly.

“Loki!” 

He winced under the mask and pulled it off of his face to look at Stark. “What?” He snapped. His head was starting to ring. 

“Don’t fall off the edge.” There was a hint of a warning. 

 

“I’ll certainly try not to. Goodnight Stark.”

And he pulled the eye cover over his eyes. He heard Cap’s voice, faint as he traveled the edge between sleep and wakefulness. 

“I have your- ugh. Tony, what did you do now?”

“Me? Nothing! Just asked him some questions and he fell asleep!”

“Sure. I’m going to put these here for when he wakes up.”

“Good call. I don’t know how he’s alive, much less awake and coherent. I’d be screaming in agony if I had been in his position.”

“Well he is a god.”

“True that. True that.”

The rest faded away as he finally went into the painless state that sleep brought with it. 

 

—-

 

He woke up screaming. He clamped his mouth shut. That was embarrassing. But the pain had definitely gotten worse. He barely managed to swallow some of the pills before Thor stormed in, lightning curling around his hand. 

They both stared at each other. Green eyes to blue eye, pain to relief. Thor visibly relaxed. 

“Are you alright Brother? I heard screaming. If you would like me to wake the others-“

“That’s quite all right, thank you. Sorry to interrupt your sleep brother.”

He smiled and walked over to ruffle his hair. He bit back a yelp of pain. 

“That’s quite all right. Dreams?”

He shook his head, which hurt considerably less than it had earlier. “Head. Nothing to be done about it. Go back to bed.”

“I shall watch over you. Sleep well brother.”

Thor positioned himself in an armchair to keep an eye on him. He was reminded of the days in their youth when they had done the same thing to ward off nightmares. 

He sighed and curled up on the couch, aware of a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. 

“Thank you brother.”

He fell back into dreamland, unaware of anything at all. 

 

——-

 

Loki woke up to see Thor passed out in the chair. The pain in his head had ceased to throbbing, but it would probably come back in full force later. In the meantime, he could use some breakfast. 

He walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge. There was a measly amount of supplies here, but it would do. He got out the ingredients and started to make his famous pancakes- only available on Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, and other similarly special occasions. This was one of them. And they were good if he did say so himself. 

Soon the whole tower was roused by the smell of pancakes. They went down to the kitchen...

And saw a table covered with plates of food. Loki flipped one, perfectly golden-brown, onto a plate. 

“Pancakes?”

They fell upon them with gusto.

 

Stark wiped his mouth. “Say, Rudolph, these are pretty good.”

“Pretty good? These are the best I’ve ever had! How do you-“

“A magician never tells his secrets, especially if it’s a family recipe.”

There were a few nods at that, and the scraping of forks on plates. The sound made his head ring, but not throb like it had when they first got to the meal. Loki waited until they were finished to devour the rest of the table’s worth of pancakes. They all stared at him in disbelief. 

“What? Is there something on my face?”

“You just ate more than Thor and I combined.” Cap didn’t seem to be put out- rather amused. Stark was just slack-jawed. 

“How the- where do you put it?!”

“Magic of course. You all will probably have to go on a grocery run later however. You have nothing at all. How are you all not starving?”

They just stared at him. “We went shopping three days ago!”

That caused the table to laugh, Loki included, to everyone’s surprise. Even Loki was stunned. But it also made his head hurt, so he excused himself to go flop down on the couch. 

—-

Once he had woken up from his nap Widow cornered him. 

“I need to check your bandage.”

His adrenaline increased. People touching him? No thank you. His head would surely protest. 

“No buts. You’ve had that on for a day and a half- it has to be full of dry blood by now. It’ll start to get itchy soon.”

It was already itchy, so he relented. He did want to know how his head was doing after all. He needed to know how long it would be until he was back on his feet. 

They sat on the couch. She unwrapped the bandages, making a noise if surprise when she saw his wound. 

“It’s almost healed already? It’s already started to scab over and most of the stitches are gone- what kind of healing factor do you have?”

He shrugged. “I don’t really know. I heal faster than a human, but not quite as fast as Thor. Maybe three, four times as fast?”

“Wow. I’m jealous. So I’ll just put on a new bandage and you should be good to go. Anything else hurting?”

He shook his head softly. “All of my scrapes and bruises faded already.” She nodded and got up. He called after her. “Thank you Widow.”

She couldn’t hide her surprise as the elevator doors closed behind her. 

How much had he changed? 

And was it for the better?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So many people have read this already that I figured I should post another chapter! I only have a few chapters backlogged already, so I will be posting this slowly, but I hoped you enjoyed! 
> 
> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> (I’m posting this on my phone so if there are any major errors I am so sorry.)


	3. Chapter 3

Loki stretched, getting off of the couch. He yawned... and felt no pain. He felt a small smile stretch across his face. 

Now he could finally do what he wanted to do. 

But what did he want to do?

Cut his hair for sure- it was way too long. Not as short as Thor’s... hmm. He’d have to think about it. 

Train? But what would he do? He was excellent at a range of things- misdirection, throwing knives, competitive Mario kart. 

Spar? He didn’t want the others to get hurt-

Wait. When had he grown fond of the other residents of the tower? Certainly not before the injury... 

Hmm. Did he trust himself not to hurt anyone?

No. No he didn’t. He’d stick with dummies until he felt ready. 

Would he feel ready? 

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He needed to throw some knives. So he went down to the gym. 

To his surprise, Cap was there. He supposed he shouldn’t be surprised- the man was constantly training- but it was a shock none the same. 

“Loki? What are you doing down here?” 

He shrugged as he pulled a knife throwing set from the wall and went by the targets. “In the mood to throw some knives. You?”

“Imagining them as Stark’s face.”

“Ah.” He held the knife in the proper position. “Problem?”

“You know us. Can’t agree on anything.”

Loki let loose the knife, hitting dead center. He grabbed another and moved on to the next board. “Reminds me of my youth. Thor and I were constantly arguing- only our mother could pacify us. I suggest finding a peaceful medium- I tried a lot of things- reading being the one I most prefer.”

Cap raised a brow. “You know Stark has a library, right?”

The familiar hunger- the possibility of more knowledge- gnawed at him. “Really?”

He must have failed to keep the excitement from his voice because Cap laughed. “I didn’t expect you to be such a nerd. Yeah, fourteenth floor. Tons of books. You should go check it out.”

Loki smiled. “You know what, I think I will. Thank you for the suggestion.”

He replaced the knives on the wall. He looked back at Cap, who was punching a punching bag. 

“Cap?” He looks back. “Good luck.”

He went to go find the library.

—-

 

Loki was trying to balance a massive stack of books when someone helped him with it. He was soon face to face with Banner, who scooped some of the books out of his hand and walked with him to the common area. There was an awkward silence. 

“I’ve been thinking.”

Loki raised a brow. “Go on.”

“The way you were at the battle- you had a concussion didn’t you? That’s why you were so destructive. You were in pain, possibly amnesia. You still have no idea why you were locked up, do you?”

He stood there, shocked, before he nodded mutely, his chin resting on the large stack of books he carried. How did he know?

“You reminded me a lot of what I’m like after I hulk out. No clue what happened, but piecing things together.”

Loki nodded again. Banner continued. “You suffer from concussions- I didn’t know Asgardians could be injured like that.”

He was silent. If he was thinking like he thought he was...

Banner’s mouth dropped open. “You’re not Asgardian are you? You’re something else?”

“Correct. I am a frost giant.”

His mouth fell open once more. “Really? How did that happen?”

“My father found me as a baby and raised me as his own. I only found out three years or so ago. Basically disowned myself.”

“Oh.”

There was a silence. Then a hand fell on his shoulder as the scientist juggled the books in his other arm. “That’s rough. I’m sorry you had to find out like that.”

 

He shrugged. “Honestly, I’m not too shaken up about it now. Have you seen frost giants? They’re hideous- I’d rather stay in Asgard.”

“No. What do they look like?”

“Very cold. Ice blue with red eyes. Some have icicles.”

“But you don’t-“

“And I have no idea why. Magic perhaps.”

They walked into the elevator and traveled up. Soon he realized he was going to a different floor than the common area. 

“Why are we going up to the rooms?”

Banner looked at him dryly. “You can’t exactly just sleep on the couch forever, now can you? You’re at the end of the hall next to Thor.”

Oh. That was unexpected. They went to the room marked with a green door. If opened to a room full of bookshelves, a desk, and a bed. He put the books he carried in the desk as he looked around. “This- this is unexpected. I am not one for thanks, but thank you.” 

Banner waved it off. “Eh, it was mostly Steve and Thor’s idea. I just did the door.”

He looked around. There was a skylight over the bed so he could see the stars, and plenty of space. The wood was dark under his shoes. 

“I’ll leave you to it.” And he was gone, the door closing softly behind him. He looked around once more, then began to shelve his new books. 

He remembered some of the items that were destroyed in Asgard. Maybe... familiar items filled the shelves. Pictures, trophies, along with other momentos were cluttered around the room, but it still didn’t feel crowded. He lay on the bed with his head to the open sky above him.   
There was a knock at his door, followed by the sound of thunder. He sat up. “Come in brother.”

Thor entered, then looked at the room, stunned. “I am rather jealous of your room Loki. It suits you.”

Yeah, he supposed it did. 

Nothing like a head injury to make enemies into friends, now is there?

He guessed he’d have to find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed, and have a great day!


	4. Chapter 4

Loki was throwing knives in the training room when somebody tapped his shoulder. He spun around, knife in hand. He heard a strange -shwip- sound, then his hands were bound. He went back a few paces then realised his opponent was just a kid- a kid who had leapt onto the ceiling. Loki stopped and looked up, blasting the web apart with what remained of his adrenaline. He threw the knife behind him, and it stuck into the board with the rest. He folded his arms, looking at the teen crouched on the ceiling, hand extended and something wrapped around his wrist. 

 

“Can I help you?”

 

The teen scrambled back, still on the ceiling. “Are you-”

 

“Loki? No, that would be ridiculous.” Loki craned his neck upward to see the kid crouched on the ceiling. 

The teen nodded before stiffening. “Wait- you’re joking, right?”

 

“Evidently. Now who are you?”

 

The kid turned himself around before dropping neatly to the floor. He put out his hand. “My name’s Spiderman, but you can call me Peter.” Loki warily took it. Peter looked surprised, looking at his hand. “Wait- you’re not an illusion? But I thought you were in jail?!”

 

“It got boring so I escaped. Have we met before? The name seems familiar.”

 

“I don’t think so.”

 

He looked truthful, so it must have just been him. He looked around. “What are you doing here? There was a raid here a week ago.”

 

Peter looked up in surprise. “What happened? Was anyone hurt? I heard about it on the news, but there wasn’t much information.”

 

Loki shrugged, going over and pulling the knived out of the board. “Well, other than the ceiling coming down... nothing much. We mostly just got bruises and scrapes.”

 

“We?” Loki turned around to see Stark in the doorway. “Oh, hey Pete.”

 

“Hey Mr. Stark! I was just talking to…” His eyes got as round as saucers. “Holy crap I was just talking to the god of lies. What actually happened?”

 

Loki bristled slightly, but he just kept working. 

 

“Nah kid, Rudolph over there is right. Mostly just bruised and scrapes. Nothing to get too worked up over- nothing life threatening other than some massive headaches.”

 

“Yes, I am told that I get rather aggravating. One of my best talents, that.”

 

Peter didn’t look like he knew who to believe. “So Loki’s good? What happened? In detail.”

 

Loki felt a flash of anger, turning towards the teen. “No, I have not turned ‘good.’ I just am not currently in the mood to kill anyone here.” He smiled wickedly. “It changes from moment to moment.” He had some satisfaction at the look on Peter’s face, who paled and took a step back, swallowing. 

 

Stark leveled a look at him. “Loki….”

 

He sighed, turning around and throwing another knife. “Ugh, fine. My apologies to your feeble human ego. I will work on that in the future.” The knife hit dead center. It was boring when you didn’t have to work for it. That sort of said something for both how many times he had stabbed his brother and how many times someone had pissed him off and he had to go work off some steam. 

 

Stark massaged his temples. “Loki… jeeze. Anyway, Pete, the others are excited to see you. Loki, you want to come up with us?”

 

He threw another knife. “Does that answer your question?”

 

“Yep. See you later then. Don’t forget that we’re having pizza for dinner.”

 

“How could one forget when they have to go before their brother in order to get food? I’ll be there.”   
  
“With how much you two eat I had them order a lot. Don’t worry.”

 

“Ah, yes. How do you mortals not starve anyway? You barely eat more than a few mouthfuls. That must contribute to your short lifespans.”

 

“I don’t know Loki… but see you around. You coming Pete? I’ll tell you about the fight on the way up.”

 

“Yeah Mr Stark! See you around Loki!”

 

They left the room, talking adamantly about... something complicated. He wondered what it was. 

  
  


\---------

  
  


A few days later the two brothers were watching a movie, alone in this part of the tower. Stark was deep in his workshop repairing his suit, the other Avengers were shopping and going to the park for the day, and it was just the two of them watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Now, normally Loki loved this midgardian movie, but today it just seemed to be getting on his nerves. 

 

Not to mention that he had been roped into this- he and Thor were having a tense period between them, and it was all Loki could do to stop himself from stabbing him. He had suggested it as a peace agreement, and he was regretting the decision. 

 

“These knights are so stupid. I knew migardians were foolish, but they have accelerated past pure idiocy.” They were at the witch part, Loki’s least favourite part of the whole movie at this point. 

 

“I wouldn’t call them foolish brother. They are just unaware of their facts.”

 

“So idiotic.” Loki shifted on his side of the couch. “Why did you come to this fool planet anyway? You leashed yourself to a great group of bumbling morons for nothing in return.”

 

“Because that is what heroes do.” Thor had a sip of beer. Loki looked at the cans on the coffee table. 

 

“Stark will be angry that you are drinking all of his alcoholic beverages brother.”

 

“Hah! Man of Iron has nothing against me! I am simply clearing out the beverages he doesn’t use.”

 

Loki raised a brow. “I’m not so sure he would see it that way. You know how those humans are. Mortals.”

 

“You are not human.” So Thor was at the stating facts part of his tipsiness. Or was that a jab at his temper?

 

“Not in the least. But neither is an Asgardian.”

 

“No. But you embraced the humanity within you as a child. Blood does not keep family apart.” That was something that he could easily imagine Odin saying. That filled him with rage- red hot like a furnace. He clenched his fists as he stood up and faced away from Thor towards the elevators, the blown-down embers of the fire from before his father’s death flaring up with anger and grief. 

 

“I am not your family.” His voice trembled slightly, ever so slightly. Thor noticed.

 

“And yet you call me brother.” Was this just to provoke him? 

 

“I would refrain from this subject unless you would like a knife to the chest.” Good, an opportunity to stab him. 

 

“I am simply stating facts. You should try it sometime. It might be good for you.”

 

Loki whipped around, his armor materializing and a knife flying from his hand. Thor caught it with ease, tossing it aside. “Your defense is getting better. I can’t recall a time where I couldn’t stab you.” He backed up a few steps, trying not to trip on his cape. Thor got up to follow him, his eye brightening with electricity. 

 

“Indeed brother. It seems that you have had the upper hand for far too long.” Loki summoned a short sword. 

 

“Since when have I had the upper hand? You have always been the favourite of the two of us.”

 

“What is it you speak of?”

 

Loki feinted a slash and rolled away from the lightning shooting from his brot- Thor’s- fingertips. “Hmm, let me see. If it weren’t for ou- your mother, I wouldn’t be alive. You are the golden child, the King… must I go on? You treat me like gum to be scraped off your boot.”

 

“Well that certainly wasn’t intentional. Why didn’t you tell me?”

 

He dodged a fist. “Well communication has never been our forte, now has it? And besides, we seen to do the most talking while we fight. I wouldn’t want to deny myself the chance of stabbing you.”

 

The two of them danced around each other. He really didn’t want to deal with the price of blowing up the Tower, so he refrained from adding explosives to the field. He might have to though if he wanted to win- he wasn’t joking about the increase in Thor’s defensive maneuvers. Even with the loss of depth perception he had gotten a lot better. 

 

Loki summoned his empty staff- he hadn’t destroyed it quite yet since the stone had gone- and whacked Thor across the face with it, knocking him down.    
  
Then an alarm blared. They both stopped to look around, and Loki felt dread in the pit of his stomach. 

 

“That’s not the attack alarm…”

 

Before Loki could say anything something knocked him upside the head and he blacked out. Again. He was going to probably have a migraine by the end of this. 

Gods he was so tired of being knocked out.

————

He woke up in a familiar blank cell, his head throbbing once more. “No. No!” He picked himself up from the floor, eyes scanning for anything to escape. But no- even the vent was gone. He was truly locked in. He punched the magic barrier, not caring that it sent a jolt of pain and electricity through his hand. “NO!”

 

He continued in this vain for a couple of minutes- punching out his anger on the barrier. It didn’t even splinter. He came to his senses and felt how drained he was, sitting down heavily on the bed. What, just for attacking Thor he had been knocked out and contained? This was ridiculous!

 

He looked at the ceiling and saw the camera. He glared at it. They were going to ridicule him. Look down on his weaknesses. But he had an idea. He closed his eyes and concentrated, manifesting an illusion of himself and putting it in the closet next to the common room so he could hear what they were saying. Might as well have an inside scoop.

 

Voices filtered through the door. The others had come home.

 

‘Stark, why the hell would you do that?!’ Hey, Cap was swearing.

 

‘Yeah Tony- you couldn’t have just separated them?’

 

‘They were fighting! I didn’t know if I could separate them to be honest. I just barely managed to knock him out!’

 

‘Tony, you added blunt force to a healing injury?! It’s a miracle nothing bad happened! He could have blown up the tower if one hit hadn’t managed to do the trick!’

 

‘I don’t believe my brother deserved quite that much force.’

 

‘It was a spur of the moment decision! What else was I supposed to do, join the fight?’ He’d have probably just gone around him- his quarrel was with Thor, not the scientist. But true. He’d probably have gotten injured. How long had passed?

 

He was distracted by a flash of pain through his head, causing his powers to go haywire. The door flew off of its hinges, and he disappeared before anyone saw the illusion. 

 

Were they really that divided against Tony for what he had done? It seemed improbable, but then again, mortals made connections rather quickly. They had probably become sentimental. 

 

He opened his eyes to see Vision at his cell door. He raised his brows. He hadn’t seen the robot around the tower for ages- why had he come down here? 

 

Vision went through the force field with ease and sat down next to Loki, who had scooted over to give him room. “Hello Loki.”

 

“Greetings.”

 

Vision looked at him, scanning him like he did to almost everybody. Another jolt of pain went through his head, causing him to fight back a wince. 

 

“Does your head hurt?” Loki nodded. No use trying to lie to the robot.

 

“Headaches do seem to have that effect. I’m rather jealous that Thor doesn’t get them nearly as often, but I do get captured often, so that’s probably a reason why.”

 

“Because you’re not Asgardian?”

 

He looked up at the camera then at Vision angrily. “Maybe, but they don’t know that! Shout it out to the world why don’t you?!” He hissed, even if the camera would certainly pick it up anyway.

 

“Does your brother know?” He lowered his voice to a whisper.

 

“I have no idea. The subject certainly hasn’t come up. It depends if he somehow found out from Odin or my mother when they were alive. It’s doubtful.”

 

Vision stood up. “Well, goodbye then Loki.”

 

He drifted out of the field, simply standing there outside the window. After a few minutes he pressed the button that released the field and went through the wall leading out of the hallway. 

 

Loki sat there in shock for a second before running out of the tiny room, impressed at his good fortune. Or maybe they were all being kind to him for some reason. The first one was more likely, but he still had no idea what had happened before he had been locked up. Had he saved their lives or something? 

 

He stumbled as a few images flooded his mind. A large blast of purple and Thor covered in rubble. Swathes of blue fire and a huge shape in the smoke. Then his mind was clear again, the memories gone once more. 

 

He glowered at his reflection as he passed a window. He wanted the whole story, not just bits and pieces! What he saw out the window made him pause and consider his options.

 

There was a massive haze of smoke on the other side of the compound, and the lights that signified fighting. He sighed and jogged down the hall, manifesting his armor and helmet, along with a sword. 

 

Those idiots would be dead without him. 

 

He sprinted through the door and was surprised to see a familiar face that he hadn’t seen in almost a year. Strange. Well, and a bunch of raiders. Would they ever leave? What were they doing here?

He looked down to see shards of metal next to his boots. They were robots? Well those would be more difficult to destroy. Evidently their creators had gotten wind of their extra opponent. He saw glimpses of metal through their coats. Yep, definitely robots.

He sliced his way through the intruders to Strange, who pointed his hands at him, geometric magic hovering above his fingers.

“You’re here? What, are these your minions?”

“On the contrary. Why are you here?” He threw a knife over Strange’s shoulder, causing the robot behind him to collapse. It was all about destroying the major circuits.

Strange sighed. “I was trying to talk to Stark when these guys attacked. I take it you broke out of your cell?”

How had he known? Loki shrugged, smiled, and went back to bashing robots. They continued on this length for a while before he figured it out.

“They’re trying to distract us. Where’s Stark?”

“I haven’t seen him. Maybe hiding what they’re looking for?”

He severed a metal head. “Hopefully. If so I might go looking for it later.”

“You do that.”

 

They drifted apart, and he was relieved to find that his headache has lessened. Finally; he had had too many of those lately. He and the others managed to take out the rest in the area. Cap jogged over.

“How did you escape?”

“Vision. Need help?”

After staring at him for a few seconds Cap shrugged. “Couldn’t hurt. There’s more in that room if you want to do your exploder thing.”

“Exploder thing?” Strange came up, batting away his cape, who only wanted to patch him up.

“Well…” Screw it. “I can’t really do it on command.”

“What? But you’ve-“

“Headache, remember? It disrupts the flow of my magic. Those explosions are the side effect. We’re lucky the worst that has happened is a cave-in.”

Cap digested this. “And you can’t do it at will at all? Only when you have a headache or something? That’s strange.”

“Fortunately. Not just headaches either- don’t piss me off.”

“Gotcha. On to the next room?”

“Lead the way.”

They followed Cap.

“So you cause things to explode?”

He shook his head, not looking at Strange. “No. I cause the explosions. It’s not fun, let me tell you.”

“Oh. Odd kind of magic.”

They walked the rest of the way in silence, avoiding each other’s gaze. Loki didn’t want to deal with awkwardness right now. It always infuriated him.

 

—  


They came across the only human; the leader in the midst of his minions. He was trying to pick a locked box- it was fruitless. Asgardian tech: he would never open it without the password.

He slipped it into his coat pocket as he realized it- he would work on it later. Loki wondered what it was. It was a box about the size of an apple, smooth metal. A metal he recognized- Vibranium. What was in a secure box of vibranium that would warrant this much attention? Not even he got that much security.

His attention was grabbed by the others, who were fighting their way through another entrance. The three of them joined the fight, Loki threw away the sword and got his scepter- it would be useful to hack these metal beasts apart.

The air filled with smoke and the sound of metal tearing. The leader grabbed his stuff and ran, fighting his way out.

He shouldered past Thor, who reared back to knock him out with a punch. The leader took out a gun and emptied it into his brother’s torso without a second glance as he kept moving. Loki’s mouth opened in disbelief. This couldn’t be happening.

  


SHOCK/DENIAL

  


The world seemed to slow down. Thor fell, his face alight with pain and surprise. He crashed to the ground, unmoving except for the electrical energy that faded from his eye.

He felt a wave of emotion crash over him, pulling him down into its depths. His brother die to the hands of some idiot in sight of some metal box?! Sorry Stark, but he’d fallen over the cliff.

Rage, grief- it was all a torrent of red and green that clouded his vision. He could only hear a primal scream- something that burned the throat and caused the ears to ring with the anguish and anger buried in it. Only later did he realize it came from him.

  


ANGER

  


He lit up with power as his soul burned. A wave of light came from him: green-blue and terrible. All of the creatures were blasted back, cut into ribbons. The others were spared as they looked at him agape. He stormed towards the man, faint flames dancing around him and his eyes glowing.

The man who had murdered his brother, the only one who had kept him from being alone.

All was silent as he put a knife to the man’s neck. “Do you fear death?” The scent of fear filled the air. He relished it.

He stabbed him through the torso with his scepter and twisted. The leader’s face contorted in pain.

“Sister dear? Make him suffer.” He spat, staring him straight in the eye. He would suffer for eternity in the afterlife- he was sure of it- even if he had to go to Hell and convince her himself. He dragged his knife across the man’s throat.

 

There was a few seconds of silence, save for the thud the man made as he hit the ground. Loki fished the item out of its coat pocket. There was no worth in it to him; no amount of money could replace the feeling of joy that had left the moment the light had gone out of his brother’s eye. He tossed it to Cap, who somehow managed to catch it in his shock.

He crouched down to lay his hands on his brother, armor fading away as sorrow crashed down on him. Thor’s wounds leaked blood- he was sure to be dead. Not even Odin could-

  


BARGAINING

  


Could nobody do anything? Not even himself? He ran through scenarios in his head- no, his brother had never encountered wounds this severe. 

He choked back a sob, blinking quickly. He was truly alone now. As much as he had wanted to kill his brother he never would have once his mother died. He was never close to his father, but-

He put his head on his brother’s chest as the sadness rushed through him.

He was entirely alone.

 

The others grouped around the two of them as the tears streamed down his face and he buried it into his brother’s cape. The air hung heavy with grief.

Cap kneeled down and put a hand on his shoulder. He barely noticed. He heard a few sniffles through the thrum of death that surrounded him. He felt cold blood through the leather of his sleeves and almost gagged. Normally that didn’t bother him, but the fact that it was from someone he loved…

He heard footsteps. Then a sharp intake of breath as Stark ran over. “Thor! FRIDAY-“

/ _He has no pulse or sign of life. I am sorry sir._ / The familiar voice came through the speakers in the ceiling, almost sounding sincere.

 

He held his heart tighten as the A.I. confirmed the feeling he held in the core of his heart. He rested the top of his forehead on Thor’s chestplate as he took a shuddering breath to steady himself. He saw Banner close his brother’s eye and bow his head. Loki wasn’t sure if he could let go.

  


DEPRESSION

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I'm honestly not sorry. I said you'd hate me around Chapter 4 didn't I?)
> 
> The whole Stages Of Grief motif will continue through the rest of the story. I actually had a lot of fun writing this- interesting. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and thanks for reading! have a great day!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS A VERY HEAVY CHAPTER!
> 
> \- It's all a grief scene. If that gives you problems I will be summarizing it at the end with much less detail. It is all him basically breaking down.   
> \- Be safe! I don't want anyone to be injured by my writing. I love you guys.

Loki was pacing, looking for a distraction. Energy constantly flowed under his skin, leaving him both restless and tired at all times. He hadn’t gotten any sleep since the night of Thor’s death, and his room was destroyed save for one table- the table that held a picture of him and his brother taken years ago in a worn frame. He had found this in a place of honor in his brother’s room, and he’d kept it as a memento of one of the only people he had let close to his heart. 

He’d flipped through all of his books. One wall was littered with indentations of knife points. He’d tried the Midgardian Internet, but nothing there was particularly satisfying except for the music, and that wasn’t very distracting. And these things called Musicals, played on a surface called Broadway. It was very confusing.

He hadn’t eaten at all, which was starting to take a toll. He had started seeing hallucinations- but that could have just been his magic on overdrive. So one night he’d raided the kitchen like a thief, stealing just about everything he could get his hands on. He still wasn’t full. But the hallucinations had stopped and he’d been able to get some sleep, so that was something. 

But he still felt empty- like a key part of himself had been taken away, although he couldn’t place what. He just felt so hollow...

Another surge of energy shook the room, and Loki fell to his knees, wrapping his arms around him as if he was about to break. He heard the faint sound of breaking glass as the picture frame hit the wall. He let out a low cry, and was soon too busy sobbing to hear the door open. 

“Loki? Loki!”

He just rocked back and forth, back and forth; like the pendulum of a clock that just kept ticking, taking those he loved away. He put his hands over his head, still rocking. His breath was ragged, and tears still flowed down his face. 

The walls were coming down.

The door slammed shut, and he heard someone calling for the others. He just kept rocking, the noise a stream of static in the back of his mind. He just kept rocking, tears streaming down his face and his mouth forming the beginnings of questions all starting with ‘Why?’. 

 

Why did everyone he love have to die?

Why was he still alive?

Why was he in so much pain?

 

The last question seemed the most important- he had killed. He had seen countless people die before him. But this was what really hit him hard. Why? 

Why?

He just kept rocking, rocking, the word forming an echo on his cracked lips.

“Why?” He croaked faintly, the sound barely carrying past his mouth.

Another round of energy reverbed around the room. The light coming through the skylight faded as the sun set, leaving the room dim. He just kept rocking. Why?

Why?

Why?!

He clutched his head like he thought it would break like fine china hitting the floor. The door burst open as he shook, energy wafting off of him like the tide to the shore. He arched his back, his teeth clenched and limbs shaking. A group of people were in the doorway, unable to come closer. He fell onto his side, curling up like an armadillo. 

Tears fell down his face anew- he thought he had run dry. His breaths hitched- and he just kept rocking. The energy had abated a little, but Stark had held the others back. 

He wrapped his arms around himself again- like the hugs of a brother he would never get again. He continued to sob, feeling like there was broken glass cutting into his heart.

Eventually the energy stopped until it was like a weak wind, the others still keeping their distance. Tears still were there, as well as the shuddering breaths, but they had lessened slightly. He stopped rocking, simply because he had run himself down.

He just hurt. He was cold and in pain and had a hollow spot that gnawed at him in his core. The others started to creep closer. He tried to drag his body into a tighter coil, but it protested. He just lay there, flopped on the floor, tear-tracks drying on his face and his hair falling in his eyes. 

He pressed his cheek against the floor, hoping his heart would break so he wouldn’t be alone.

A hand rested on the floor as a head came into view. Natasha. 

“Are you okay Loki?”

Stark scoffed. “Of course he’s not. But he will be eventually.”

He severely doubted that. He heard Banner. “I came in and he was like that, so I brought you guys. Would you like us to leave?”

Yes. He managed a slight head shake before his tired body and mind gave way to the cold embrace of sleep. 

 

He opened his eyes in a large grassy field- and was swallowed by two strong, familiar arms. His mother looked at him with a smile running in her eyes, and kissed his forehead. “I am so proud of you my son.”

He felt another hand ruffling his hair. He turned his head and met his brother’s gaze- Thor had the brightest smile he had ever seen. “I am as well brother. You have done marvelous things.”

They parted at the sound of someone clearing their throat. Odin stood there, looking as kingly as ever in his white robes. He straightened, trying to force a smile. Odin held out his arms. “My son. You have done so much. Will you give your father a hug?”

He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the man, feeling like he was twelve again. He heard a whisper in his ear. “You have done well Loki. You have earned the name Odinson.” He straightened up. “And I am very proud of you.”

Loki stood there for a second before going in for another hug, burying his face in the voluminous robes. 

“And Loki?”

He turned towards his mother. She smiled again. 

“That is what heroes do. They fight for justice and peace. Let that guide you. We love you.”

“Goodbye brother.”

He raised his arms to hug his brother… but they had all dissolved into wind. 

His eyes opened, and Loki Odinson awoke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SUMMARY: 
> 
> \- Loki was grieving, locking himself into his room and not eating for days before frantically eating just to make the hallucinations go away so he could catch a couple hours of sleep.  
> \- He was bored and that gave him way too much time to think, which is something he really didn't need.   
> \- His grief had caused him to destroy his room with magic, and he eventually just broke down crying and shaking, causing so much noise that Banner found him and ran to tell the others.   
> \- They eventually found him, but his magic kept them away until he wore himself down. He eventually fell asleep as they managed to get close enough to calm him down.  
> \- He dreamed of his mother, his father, and Thor- they assured him that he was doing well and that he'd earned the rights to be an Odinson. That they were proud of him. That they loved him.   
> \- Then he woke up. 
> 
> \------
> 
> Thank you for reading! I know this was really short, but it was so emotionally draining to both read and write I figured it was the best idea. I'll post the next bit sometime soon. I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you all have a great day. 
> 
>  
> 
> If you need something to cheer you up a bit- I hope this will help. There's a few of them if you need more: 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDI8OjA6FjY&t=312s&list=LL4IeP8-3k6RgHNJFx2QjCwg&index=67
> 
>  
> 
> If you like Undertale and specifically Sans:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8XG1xpGzdI
> 
>  
> 
> More Marvel: 
> 
> Animated Vines w/ Marvel characters:  
> PT 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvSfmpLZdHc  
> PT 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUCt4wG5Kpk
> 
> Here's some Villain Pub- it's awesome and hilarious and I strongly suggest you watch it if you're a geek like me:   
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzsop9HnJJ4
> 
>  
> 
> Well I just gave you binge material for a bit- have fun with that. The possibilities are endless. 
> 
> And because I'm evil:   
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
> 
>  
> 
> I think you should be set! Have a great day, and thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't nearly as heavy as last chapter, but there are mentions of sickness and nausea. Not much, but I figured better safe than sorry. I hope you enjoy!

He peeled himself off of the floor. Nobody was in the room. He went over to the picture frame that had fallen to the floor. He pulled away the backing, and unfolded the whole picture. All four of them stood there now. He placed it back into the table. His family would not be forgotten. 

He really needed some breakfast. His stomach rumbled. No- it churned. 

He barely made it to the bathroom. 

—-

He kind of just lay there. Was he sick? Asgardians didn’t get sick-

But he wasn’t an Asgardian. Did frost jotuns get sick? He didn’t know. 

Was he sick, or was it just because of his lack of water for the last few days? He’d have to ask Steve- he would know. 

Wait, what was he thinking? He’d just hide himself away after breakfast. After telling everyone not to bother him. He didn’t know what would happen if his magic went haywire while he was ill. Wait-

“Hey FRIDAY? What are my symptoms pointing to?”

/You seem to be dehydrated Sir. A body scan points to the common cold, but water intake should be immediate./

He groaned. “Ugh fine.”

He was too tired to be precise. Then he got a glimpse of his hands. “Oh shit.” They were blue. Was this a side effect of the cold? 

Okay, that’s ironic. A frost giant with a cold. 

He slowly got up, listening for anyone in the hall. He eventually peeked his head out. Nobody. He rushed to his room, feeling grateful when the door closed safely behind him. He righted a stool from the corner and sat down, staring at his hands. 

Yep, definitely a frost giant. Why? Was this because the magic keeping him humanlike was being used to fight of the virus, or because of something else? He looked into a cracked mirror hanging on the wall- somehow it hadn’t fallen. A blue face with red eyes stared back. Definitely a monster.

He turned around as he heard a knock on the door. 

“Loki?” Stark.

He hurriedly wrapped an illusion around him. “Yes?”

Stark came in. He noticed that something was off, but couldn’t figure out what. 

“You okay Reindeer games? You’ve been asleep for two days.” Two days? No wonder he was dehydrated. 

He sat down on the stool. “Sharp as a stab. Two days? Really? Wow, that’s impressive.”

Stark eyes him. “You sure you’re okay? You seem… off.”

He nodded, smiling. “Perfect. Just peachy.”

Stark nodded, turning around. “If you need anything just let me know.”

“Gotcha. Goodbye Stark.”

He left the room. Loki relaxed, letting the illusion slip away. He looked back into the mirror.

“Oh, and one more thing-“ Stark barged back in loudly. They stared at each other. Silence hung heavy in the air. The man gestured towards Loki. “What’s all this?”

Loki sighed, righting another chair and gesturing to it. “Have a seat.”

“What if I don’t want a seat?”

He looked at him pointedly. “Suck it up. I can smack you around and you know it. Sit down in the chair.”

Stark sat. “Okay then. So why are you blue? I didn’t know Asgardians came in that color.”

“Because I’m not Asgardian...” He leaned back on the stool, resting his head against the wall. “My biological parents were frost giants. Well, at least that I know of.”

“Really? How do you normally look… not blue?”

“Magic. I don’t know the details.”

“Who knows?”

“Other than you? Banner. I don’t think my brother ever knew.”

“Oh.”

They sat there in silence. 

“Is that why you can do magic?”

He shook his head. “I was never one for fighting- my mother taught me Asgardian magic. Other than the basics I taught myself.”

“Okay… what did that give you that a normal Asgardian can’t do?”

“Well, with the tesseract I can turn people to ice, I don’t really feel heat… not much. I get way more headaches and heal slower. The disadvantages outweigh the pluses.”

He got up and started to walk towards the door. Stark looked at him in curiosity.

“You’re not back to normal yet- you sure you want to go out?”

He looked back. “A monster cannot hide forever in the shadows. Not to mention I am severely dehydrated and require liquids. Do you wish to come, or sit in rubble?”

Stark got up, following him out the door. He went straight to the kitchen, ignoring the small noises of surprise the others made when they saw him. He grabbed a bottle of water from the kitchen. He turned towards them, someone gasping when they saw his eyes. He raised the bottle to them.

“Cheers.” He downed the thing in one go. Then he coughed. Oh yeah, he had a cold to deal with. He went and grabbed another, then walked over to his customary armchair and reclined in it. They all stared at him. 

“What, do I have something on my face?”

Stark snorted. They glanced at him absently before looking back at him.

“Well aren’t you patriotic.”

That offhand comment caused him to laugh. “I’ve never thought of it that way. Frost jotuns probably wouldn’t appreciate that joke.” He took another swig of water. 

“I thought you said you didn’t look like that?” Banner looked confused. Nat stared at him. 

“You knew?! Why didn’t you-“

“Because it wasn’t his place to tell.”

The familiar voice made him look up in surprise. Hawkeye stood there, arrow notched. Another image flew through his mind. 

 

A large man with some kind of metal glove stood in triumph. Some stone of power gleamed on the gauntlet that engulfed his left forearm and hand. The man clenched his metal fist and he felt a choking sensation around his neck.

 

He blinked and the image was gone. He coughed a few times and the sensation faded. A portal appeared in the ceiling and Strange descended through it, the necklace around his neck glowing a faint green. His eyes landed on Loki then Hawkeye. 

“What did I miss here?”

 

—-

 

He was soon caught up on the situation. 

“Okay then. I did not foresee this. But that’s not too complicated. Stark, I came here to see the package that man tried to steal.”

Ah yes. The murderer. For that matter Loki was intrigued. 

“Speaking of which, what is it?”

They stared at him like he had grown an extra head. “The mind stone. You don’t remember…?”

He stayed silent and held out his hand, and the box was placed into his palm. He fingered the Norse runes engraved onto the sides. 

“Would you like me to open it?”

They blinked at him. “You know how?”

“The box is Asgardian technology. It just needs the password- and I’m pretty sure I can guess it.”

Strange gestures to him. “Be my guest.”

He turned it around a few times, then placed it on his palm. If he was wrong….

He said the one word he could remember from the gap in his memory. 

“Thanos.” 

And the box opened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and have a lovely day! 
> 
> Take care of yourself if you've still not recovered from last chapter or if you want something fun (you deserve it): 
> 
> Here's some meme music! (Sorry, it was the only other funny video I could find):
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JV_CXemHWGU&t=0s&index=22&list=LL4IeP8-3k6RgHNJFx2QjCwg
> 
> I love you guys.~ <3


	7. Chapter 7

He handed the yellow stone to Strange, then took another swig of water. 

“Thanos? What does that mean?”

“We never would have guessed that.”

Strange was silent, turning it around in his hands. What was he thinking? Loki was surprised that it had worked- but then again the universe tended to work like that. 

Loki shrugged and got up, feeling a rush of energy flow through him. He staggered, but soon rightened himself and went to go get an apple. He caught sight of his face on the stainless steel of the fridge. The blue was receding. He waited until it had left his face before grabbing the apple and returning. He bit into the apple. 

“You’re not blue anymore?”

He pulled up one of his sleeves and raised it, watching the blue get replaced until it had completely faded from his fingertips. He went back to eating the fruit. They stared, then blinked and went back to the conversation. Strange got up and left the room. 

He was absorbed in his food until he noticed a familiar magic surrounding the chair. He sighed, gripping the arms of the chair as the floor fell out from underneath him. He heard a few shouts of shock as he fell through into an area he had never been before. He raised a brow at Strange, who was opposite him, and went back to his apple. Ugh. He almost felt sick.

“How do you know about Thanos?” Strange sat in an armchair of his own. 

“I don’t. Just bits and pieces. Who is he?”

Strange sighed before conjuring a mug of mead onto a table next to him. Loki ignored it, favoring his apple. 

“What, do you want something else?”

“Mead is for celebration. What do I have to celebrate?”

Strange sighed and waved away the tankard. He sat forward, hands steepled. “What do you know?”

So Loki told him. How the last thing he remembered was leaving Asgard and how the plan was to go to earth for a new home. How he had no memories until he woke up in his cell and was released by Thor to fight in the raid. The bits and pieces he’d managed to pull together by the images he’d seen. 

“So the purple guy is Thanos? He collected the stones and wiped out half the universe before you managed to turn back time and reset everything. I died somewhere along the way, and so did you.”

“Yes. Oversimplified, but yes.”

Loki closed his eyes and lay back in his chair. “Will I ever remember everything?”

“You don’t have much to remember. You were one of the first people killed on the ship. I doubt you need the memories anyway.”

He opened them and raised his head. “And why is that? Isn’t he still out there?”

“No. He is locked in the mirror dimension. He will never return.”

“Oh.” He looked at his hands. That was one mystery solved, but he felt without a purpose now. “What now?”

“Pardon?”

“What do we do now?” 

“Well, I suppose we could take a break, start contacting the Guardians. Make sure there’s no chance of anything like this happening again. Do a couple of other things. Why?” The cape moved to fix his hair. He slapped it away, and it crossed the ends like it was annoyed. That almost made him smile. 

“I always like to have a backup plan. Did I really go at Thanos with a knife? I must be a midgargian to be that dumb.”

Strange just looked at him. He opened his mouth to defend himself but a portal opened up beneath him and he fell into the tower living room. He landed with a crash, then flipped his hair out of his eyes. Maybe he should send a hologram along…

Eh, too much work. He lay back against the back of the couch. “Wake me up when I’m dead.”

“Okay Mr. Loki.” He looked up to see Peter. 

“Peter? Why are you here?”

“Oh, you know. Wanted some help on homework, wanted to say hi to the others. Where’s Thor?”

His heart fell. He thought Stark had broadcasted that he had- how was he going to explain this?

“Would you like the blunt answer or the evasive one?”

Peter blinked a few times. Loki lay his head back. “Blunt I guess? What’s-?”

“He’s dead.” His chest tightened again, and a lump formed in his throat. 

“What? He’s what?!”

Loki rubbed his face, the roughness of his hands grounding him in the present. “Dead. He died in front of me. This guy shot him for the Mind Stone. I killed him. My brother is dead.” He rambled. 

“Wha-? Loki, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. Everyone says that. ‘I’m sorry you lost the only person in the world who cared for you.’ Well so am I, but apologizing for it doesn’t help anyone.” He knew he sounded choked up and was rambling, but he didn’t care. He heard Peter sit down on the end of the couch closest to him.

“This is your first time telling anyone, isn’t it?”

He looked up, startled to see an understanding expression on the teen’s face.

“Is it truly that obvious?”

Peter shook his head. “Only if you’ve had to go through it yourself. Sorry is really the only thing you can say.”

Oh. He looked down again, hair falling into his eyes. Peter got up. “But enough of this depressing stuff. Just do what you think he would want you to do and help retain his memory. Good luck.”

He walked away, leaving Loki to think. He jumped as the tower shuddered, glasses clinking in the cabinets. What was that-?

Cap rushed into the room. “Was that you?”

He shrugged, looking around. Cap furrowed his eyebrows. He saw a few cracks in the windowpanes as he got up to walk around the room. A few papers had scattered around the room- like a shockwave had gone over them or because of the shift in the structure? They hadn’t moved much. And it wasn’t an earthquake- Stark had paid way too much for structural support against stuff like that. 

Loki kept moving around the room, searching and listening. He stopped as he heard a noise- they were close to the roof. He ran into the stairway and up, arming himself with a knife as he did so. He burst out onto the roof, Steve right behind him. They stopped in their tracks as there was a massive ship docked on the roof- entirely composed of Vibranium. 

Cap looked over his shoulder as the doors opened. A man in a black suit descended, followed closely by two women- one in red and one in fairly modern clothing. The first one carried a spear. The man in front smiled. 

“Hello. I am King T’challa. I believe we have a guest who would like to see you.”

Another man descended behind him- was that a metal arm?

“Bucky?” Steve whispered behind him. Bucky ran down to meet Cap, the two of them hugging instantly before going into the tower. He felt awkward just standing there. The one in modern clothing looked over him. 

“Brother? Do you know this man?”

Nostalgia almost sideswiped him like a train. He managed to extend his hand, the knife hidden in his other hand just in case. “Loki of Asgard. You must be from Wakanda.”

The guard said something in another language. He automatically translated. "*I do not trust this man. Our informants said that he attacked New York three years ago. Be careful my king.*"

He smiled easily, the knife fading away. He walked closer, arms slightly outstretched.

“Your information isn’t wrong, but that was in the past. Things tend to change a lot after you’ve been in jail numerous times.”

They didn’t look happy. The one in the modern clothing eyed him nervously, playing with one of her many bracelets. “So you’re from Asgard. Our informant also said something of a brother. Where is he?”

Loki drummed his hands at his sides, looking at the ground before looking at them, struggling for once in his life to find the words. “Dead. He was killed a few weeks ago.”

“By you?”

He put a hand to his chest in indignation. “By me? Heavens no. His death was very hard on us.”

“*You don’t look too shaken up.*” The one in armor muttered, speaking in the same strange language from earlier. He stiffened, images from that night flying through his head. T’challa looked at her in shock. 

“Okoye that’s no way to treat-“

Loki took a deep breath before smiling at her. “You would be very much incorrect, but I shall excuse it just this once. Keep in mind that that is just because my brother would disapprove of it otherwise, but if I didn’t want to respect his memory you would be begging for your life. Good day your majesties.” 

He bowed his head slightly to the two of them, turning around and going back to the tower to sit on the stairwell a floor or so down. He tried to hold himself together, but he ended up punching the metal steps underneath him. “Stupid! Of all the things-!”

He tried to calm down. It was just an insufferable Midgardian-

She wasn’t important. Anger still boiled in his veins, but at a level where it could be controlled. He supposed he could have done his part better. What would his brother say?

He shook his head and stood up. He walked down the stairs to his room to grab a book. He needed a distraction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! 
> 
> I know Okoye was a bit out of character, but I kind of couldn't resist having Loki get angry. Anyway.... I hope you enjoyed it! I appreciate all of the feedback I've gotten on this, and I thank you so much for reading! I have a lot of fun doing this sort of thing, so seeing other people like it is a great feeling. Thank you! 
> 
> Have a lovely day!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is so shooorrrttttt.....

Loki was reading in his favorite armchair when the elevator opened. He spared a glance over. Nick Fury. Fuck. He knew Stark was trying to deal with him but had no idea how the altercation had turned out. He stayed as still as possible. 

Of course Fury saw him. He came around the couch to point an accusatory finger in his direction. 

“Why the hell aren’t you in your cell?”

He set down the book and raised his hands in surrender. “It got boring so I escaped. I thought Stark told you-“

“Yes, yes. You saved their asses. Meanwhile I have just lost one of my greatest employees-“

“And my brother.” He put his hands back down. 

“Excuse me? What the shit makes you think you can interrupt?!”

“Because the ‘valuable employee’ you speak of was my brother. I thought that would go through your thick head, but no, it seems all Midgardians are as dense as neutron stars.” He picked up his book and continued to read. 

Fury hurled some more expletives in his direction as he stormed off to find somebody competent. Loki rolled his eyes. 

“I saw that!”

“I’m sure you did. In the meantime I would get some soap for that foul tongue of yours.” He turned a page and a glass bottle narrowly missed his chair. He sighed and picked up his book to go to his room. Fury followed, still cursing. He reached his door and turned to look at the man, who was at this point purple in the face. He had tuned out about 90% of what Fury had said. 

“-And what’s more-!”

He got a door slammed in the face. Loki turned back to the room and sat down on the floor, going back to where he had left off. Fists pounded on the door. Loki ignored it. Eventually all was silent, but the pages of his book cold and brittle to the touch. He dropped the book, seeing blue on his hands once more. He looked in the mirror.

Fear. 

He locked himself in his room for the rest of the night.

And finally cut his hair.

  
  


——-

  
  


Loki was preparing a sandwich in the kitchen when he heard a noise behind him. He turned around to see Peter staring at him, wide eyed with fear.

Loki held up his hands. “Peter, I can explain-“ but the boy was already scrambling backwards, pulling on a web shooter. Loki moved forward and caught his wrist. “Peter, I-“

He heard the sound of frozen metal snapping. The shooter fell to the ground and Loki let go in shock. Peter ran out of the room, holding his freezing cold hand. Loki just stood there, his mind in complete disarray. 

_“I-I am_ _the monster who parents tell their children about at night?!”_

He stood there, arm slightly outstretched, feeling frozen himself. 

He heard shouts from Peter, telling someone that there was something in the kitchen. He ran like a monster being pursued by a mob with torches and pitchforks. 

And angry claws grabbed at his heart.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Screw it. This is short. I kind of want another thing finished on here. I'm gonna just post the whole thing. 
> 
> Yeet for instant decisions! 
> 
> I really don't have any control when it comes to posting chapters, do I? 
> 
> (No. The answer is no. Not in a million years. I don't like making you guys wait for anything but my main story, and even then I've been pretty bad about that lately. Welp.)


	9. Chapter 9

Loki was wondering what the hell was in Stark’s workshop. He had spent the last three days in there, and the god was honestly wondering what all the fuss was about. 

He would have done it earlier except for the fact that the blue still hadn’t receded fully from his hands. But curiosity got the better of him. 

He took the elevator down. The door opened, and Loki walked into paradise. 

Metal projects scattered across the workbenches, diagnostics running in one wall- the loud music put him off slightly, but other than that he could almost imagine he was in the gorges of Asgard. Well, except for the fact that there were no giants. But other than that he had fond memories playing in places like this with his brother. 

He walked silently through the aisles of tables, fingers skimming the projects. He had to admit, Stark was rather advanced for Midgardian technology. Some of these sketches were brilliant. He never had seen this kind of structure, but it would lower the chance of melting by 36%. Not a bad starting point. 

He saw Stark working on a thing on a work table along one wall, the stone sitting on a stand beside him. He crossed over, peering over his shoulder. 

“Oh I wouldn’t do that. The plates would melt together. Use Vibranium on the parts that overlap.”

The man jumped, and he stepped back. 

“FRIDAY, mute the music.”

The music finally stopped. Loki popped his ears. “It’s a wonder you aren’t deaf Stark.”

“What are you doing in here?” He pushed his goggles up on the top of his head, crossing his arms. 

“I was merely wondering how advanced Midgardian tech had advanced. I did nothing, I promise.” He held up his hands. 

“Why are your hands blue? I didn’t know you-“

“I’m afraid I rather scared Peter a few days ago. He must have not recognized me, and ran off before I could tell him who I was.”

Stark cursed. “That explains why he was yelling. I had no idea what he was saying. I’ll ask him to come to the tower and we can talk about it.” He pulled out his phone. Loki grabbed his arm.

“I’d rather wait until he comes back in his own- or I guess I could send an illusion over there- how do you people be nice? It’s exhausting.”

Stark laughed. “Don’t I know it. And your hand is really cold- did anyone ever tell you that?” He walked away, and Loki smirked. 

“Yeah- I’m a frost giant. That would kinda make sense.”

There was a bark of laughter as the elevator doors closed.

  
  


——

  
  


Loki looked up at the apartment building. He checked the address Stark gave him. Yes, this was the right place. The paper grew brittle in his blue fingers. His hands and wrists still hadn’t gone back to normal- he really needed to buy gloves. 

He went up to the door and knocked on it, wrapping a little illusion around himself to change his appearance slightly. He looked like a businessman in a green tie. Good. 

The door opened, and a woman with brown hair stood there. He smiled, holding out his hand. “Hello, you must be Peter’s Aunt. I am Mr. Stan Lee, and I was sent here by Mr Stark for urgent business.”

May blinked a few times, then held the door open more. “Peter’s in his room- do you want me to go get him, or do you need to talk to him privately?”

He nodded. “Privacy would be fantastic, thank you. Would you like to tell him of my arrival? Mr Stark told him I would be coming, but I don’t know exactly was in the message he sent. He may feel more comfortable-“

“No worries Mr Lee. Pete? There’s someone here to see you! He says Mr Stark sent him!”

“Okay! I’m in my room-“

“I’ll send him over then! Right this way then. Excuse my son- you know how teenagers can be.”

He smiled. “All too well. I remember when my brother and I were growing up- constantly bickering. May he Rest In Peace.”

She blinked. “I am sorry for your loss then Mr Lee. Here’s Peter’s room- I’ll be in the kitchen if you need anything. Coffee? Tea?”

“No thank you. I’ll only be a few minutes.”

He knocked on the door and stepped in. “Peter? May I come in?”

There was a sound of affirmation and he stepped in, closing the door behind him. 

“I didn’t know Mr Stark was going to-“

“It’s fine Peter. You wouldn’t recognize me like this anyway.” He dissolved the illusion everywhere except his hands. “Better?”

Peter stood up. “Loki? What’s going-“

“Nothing happened. I just needed to talk to you.”

The teen visibly relaxed, sitting back on his computer chair. “Okay… why not just wait until I went back to the tower?”

“Because I was… unsure on when you would be returning due to some… complications.”

“You mean that guy I saw? Who was he anyway?”

Loki held up his arm, pulling back his sleeve and removing the magic that surrounded it. 

“Oh. I’m so sorry-“

“It’s no problem- you didn’t know.”

“But if I had just stopped and let you explain-“

“You would have been more scared. I figured things would simmer down eventually. It’s perfectly understandable.”

Peter nodded hesitantly. “If you’re sure… there’s really nothing going on?”

He shook his head, putting the illusion back on. “No problem. If your aunt asks, say we just needed your opinion on a few designs.”

“Okay… see you around Mr Lee.” He turned back to the LEGO set he was working on. Loki nodded his head and left the room.

“Everything is all set. We just needed his opinion on some of the designs. Have a nice day miss.”

He stepped outside and faded into the throng of the streets, the sky grey overhead.

 

He was in the mood for a pretzel…

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I appreciate all of the support you all given me on this, and that you all have a lovely day!


	10. Chapter 10

He was walking back to the tower when he felt the telltale drops of water. He conjured an umbrella as he heard a rumble of thunder and froze as the sky opened. 

Thunder…. 

He felt the familiar ache of the ragged hole in the center of his heart. He looked up as he slowed down, the drops of water narrowly missing his face. 

It was foolish to assume there would be no thunder without his brother. It was a natural occurrence- but it still carried a lot of weight. 

And so it goes. He trudged on, back to the tower. 

——-

  
Loki’s umbrella faded into magic as he stepped into the lobby. He went towards the elevator, dodging anyone who looked at him with a simple glamour- blonde hair. He looked like Lucius Malfoy from Harry Potter. What? He wasn’t an idiot. He read more than nonfiction.   
  
Tasteless elevator music played as he traveled- at least, he assumed it was tasteless. Most Midgardian music paled in comparison to Asgard’s finest musicians.    
  
Why was every song about love? They were all copies of each other, and they didn’t do justice to real love anyhow. Pandering to the masses. Incompetent fools. However, Thor would be disappointed in him if he struck the writers of these songs down on the spot, so he supposed he would have to be patient.   
  
He ground his teeth. He was not very good at being patient. His brain needed activity, his attention to be captivated, his hands working- and there was his floor.    
  
He stepped out to a dark room. He stepped lightly to the side, bright blue fire flaring in between his fingers. He heard the squeak of a ceiling vent open and the sound of footsteps trying to be quiet as they landed on carpet. He dispelled the fire and crept forwards.    
  
Hawkeye stood in the kitchen, bowstring taut and eyes sweeping. Loki arched a brow. “Hawkeye?” He hadn’t expected the archer to be in town. He usually called before he dropped in.    
  
Hawkeye spun around to see Loki. “Loki? What- did you do this?”   
  
Loki shook his head, summoning the fire once more. “This isn’t me. If I were to hazard a guess it would be that FRIDAY is down, but that would be-“   
  
“But how did you get up here if FRIDAY was down?”   
  
That was a good question. Rather, one he hadn’t thought of yet himself. “The elevator was working as usual. I should have noticed the lack of its usual greeting however.”   
  
“FRIDAY greets you? She’s never done it to me.” He looked slightly put out. Loki flashed his most winning smile.    
  
“It’s probably to let the others know I’ve arrived. You don’t have that kind of judgment.”   
  
“Yeah- trust a guy who’s been br-“ He broke off.    
  
“Brainwashed? You weren’t exactly acting upon your own free will you know. Why hold it against you? Especially compared to me.” He couldn’t keep the faint edge of bitterness out of his voice. Barton-Clint- didn’t seem to notice, unable to stop talking.   
  
“-And it’s not like I wanted to get brainwashed, I was just-“   
  
He looked at him. “Brainwashed by me. Believe me, I understand.”   
  
Clint finally shut up. “How would you understand? You were the brainwasher, the antagonist, the-“   
  
“Villain.” He supplied.   
  
“Yeah, that.”   
  
They stood in silence. “Have we tried actually turning on the lights?”   
  
Clint froze. “Oh- that might be smart.” He reached over and flicked the switch. The lights came to life, but there was still no FRIDAY.    
  
Loki waved for Clint to be quiet and listened, hard. Nothing. And he had better-than-average hearing- there was nothing on this floor. He furrowed his brows.    
  
“I don’t hear anything.”   
  
And that was the problem. There was usually a hum of activity- people, machines; something was always making noise.    
  
He grabbed a knife from thin air and went over to the couch, looking out of the massive windows. He didn’t see anything....   
  
He turned to Clint, who was fiddling with something... a hearing aid? Clint looked up, tapping his ears. Oh, he was deaf. How had he never noticed? He prided himself on his observation skills. He waited while Clint put the aids back in.    
  
“Better?”   
  
“Much. They were way too sensitive. Sounded like everyone was shouting.” He nodded.    
  
“Understandably. Tell me if you would prefer me to make certain accommodations such as signing or facing towards you more when I speak.”   
  
“Nah, I don’t usually have any problems, and you have pretty expressive lips. You know sign language?”   
  
“Yes- there were a number of language courses in Asgard. I am fluent in a number of non-Midgardian languages. And I will take that as a complement.”   
  
“Well- okay then. Do you want to split up, or......”   
  
“I can check Stark’s lab if you’d check the training area.”   
  
Clint nodded, thinking a bit. “While you’re down there if you could check the monitors-“   
  
“It’s what I do. I’ll call you somehow if I can. If not, I’m sure you can find a way in.”   
  
“No, Tony blocked the vents. I have to use the door.”   
  
Loki blinked a few times. “Then I’ll open the door. What is with all of you Midgardians and using alternative ways to get into a room?” He shook his head as he moved towards his room. Clint called after him.   
  
“Whatcha doing?”   
  
“Grabbing something I borrowed once. I might explain it later.”   
  
There were a few seconds of silence. “Okay. If you’re sure.”   
  
Well he wasn’t ever sure, but that wasn’t going to stop him. It never did.    
  
He grabbed the feathery cloak off of its hook and went over to his skylight, prying it open amidst the light rain. He put it on- and transformed into a bird.    
  
He really had to give this back to Freya at some point. He thought she survived Hela anyway. If not, well, the cloak would prove useful once more.    
  
He flew down to the area of the base near Stark’s lab, taking off the cloak as he reached the ground. He willed it away like he did with his armor, and strode towards the door. He knocked. Nobody answered. He put his ear to the door. Definitely a lack of bad 80’s music. Either Stark wasn’t in there or he had activated some kind of protocol. He hoped the second- he didn’t have the time to find the man. He pressed on the door experimentally. It didn’t budge. He eyed the mechanism. He could probably break it with a hammer.... but he didn’t want Stark to kill him. So he tried something.   
  
“Hey FRIDAY? Activate the Loki Link Act 17.” This should work if the A.I. had even the most basic of servers running...   
  
And the door opened. The mainframe must be offline, not the entire system. He slipped in. Tony was working on the other side of the room, completely focused.    
  
“Stark?”   
  
The man had to have jumped ten feet. “Loki! What- my protocols-“   
  
“It seemed to let me in. Now, where are the others?”   
  
“They didn’t tell you? They’re upstairs looking at the storm.”   
  
Loki sighed, massaging his temples. “No they did not. Neither Hawkeye nor I knew. Why were the lights out in the common room?”   
  
“I was rerunning some diagnostics on FRIDAY. Decided to not join the party.”   
  
He leveled a look at the scientist.   
  
“Really? I’d say you’re having quite the party yourself here Tony, seems to be the right place for it. Is that whiskey I see?”   
  
“No, and if there was some you can’t have any of it.”   
  
“Relax 007, I don’t like to drink nearly as much as my brother. I prefer wine to whiskey. Or a nice champagne. But no, I wasn’t notified. Get on that next time. Goodbye Stark.”   
  
He threw on the cloak and flew out one of the high windows he had missed earlier.    
  
Complete fools all of them...   
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second-to-last chapter! Woop!


	11. Finale

He returned to his now slightly damp room. Ah yes, the rain. He had gotten used to this by now as a raven, but now his room was rather wet.   
  
Odin’s beard this was way too complicated. He snapped his fingers and a fire roared in the grate. He hung the cloak back up and decided to go to his brother’s room while his own dried. Magic could only do so much, and it was sometimes easier to take the other route.   
  
The door creaked open. The room was as unchanged as the first time had had come in- just the single picture missing from the nightstand. He turned towards the closet, looking at the many boxes on the shelf. One caught his eye- the one with LOKI scribbled on it in his brother’s messy scrawl. He cautiously lifted it down, taking it back to his room.   
  
He waved his hand and the bed shimmered, dry once more. He set the box down on the bed, carefully opening the lid. It contained letters. And pictures, momentos, small objects- like a little box of memories. He took out the envelope sitting on top, looking much cleaner and newer than the rest of the box’s contents.   
  
He swiftly opened it with a knife and took out a piece of paper. It was again covered by his brother’s writing in Asgardian runes. What was this? He read the letter.  
  
  
  
 **Brother;  
  
** **At the time you are reading this I am most likely dead or missing. Although it is rather ironic, I am sorry.**   
  
  
  
This went on in this vain for a page, and Loki read faster and faster, devouring word after sentence after paragraph. He reached the end.  
  
And then it lay there limp in his hand, fingers tracing the last words of the letter.   
  
  
  
**And although you and I diverged long ago, you’re my brother and I love you.**  
  
Thor  
  
  
  
  
He listened to the crackle of the fire. The letter fell to the comforter and he delved into the rest of the box with a hungry curiosity.   
  
Pictures of the two of them, small items from their travels, written retellings of stories he had long forgotten.   
  
A box of memories lay on his bed. He carefully replaced each and every item and put it on his shelves.   
  
He felt the hole in his heart begin to slowly heal as the sound of rain, fire, and thunder crashed around him.   
  
ACCEPTANCE   
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for taking the time to go through this journey with me, as short as it was. Honestly, I put Loki through some serious shit. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this little thing I dreamt up on a plane, and that it was at least somewhat enjoyable even with all of the twists and turns and emotions and crap. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it, and have a great day!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> If you want to go to my Tumblr, feel free at this link:
> 
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/dorktapus42
> 
>  
> 
> I have another work if you like Undertale or Sanders Sides:
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/14174127/chapters/32672058
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks for reading! Have a great day!


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